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Common Eider – Somateria mollissima
Common Eider – Somateria mollissima
This bird is part of the Anatidae family.
This is a fairly large duck, which may be up to 70 cm to a maximum weight of 3 kg and a wingspan of up to one meter.
The Common Eider loves the sea coast and its coastline. We hardly observed in the inland. It can be seen on all the coasts of the northern hemisphere as in Europe or Asia, America and all the small northern islands. But you must know that its favorite place is Burgeo Island.
The male and female are different color. The female is brown, sounding quite dull, with darker color bars throughout the plumage.
The male is totally different. It has a green neck, top of the head black, pale pink chest, stomach and part of the wings black. The rest of the body is white. It is much more colorful than the female.
The male is totally different. It has a green neck, top of the head black, pale pink chest, stomach and part of the wings black. The rest of the body is white. It is much more colorful than the female.
What is special about this duck is its wedge-shaped beak. Its appearance is quite special. It spent much of its life to feed in the water. It likes aquatic insects, molluscs such as mussels or clams and shellfish like shrimp or crabs. It also likes to graze algae or other plants of the coast and fish.
The breeding season begins in late spring. The female builds the nest alone at the edge of the water. It can be covered or uncovered. It is made of plants and debris. As each duck’s nest, the female pulls the feathers of her belly to fill the nest. This keeps the eggs warm. The female let an average of 5 eggs which she incubates for 4 weeks. Young at birth are covered with down and already able to feed by copying the movements of their mother. They will be able to fly after 70 days.This species has only 5200 pairs, its population was gradually rebuilt. But today it is again threatened by marine pollution strikes and affects a large number of sea ducks.
